Does your team have the skill set? — Business Management Daily: Free Reports on Human Resources, Employment Law, Office Management, Office Communication, Office Technology and Small Business Tax Business Management Daily

Does your team have the skill set?

A survey by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) says a third of corporations see a gap in managerial and supervisory skills; and half warn of insufficient leadership and executive-level skills.

Most employees do have skills in creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, critical thinking and adaptability. They simply need more.

These skills are more valuable the further we’ve come from the Industrial Revolution, says ASTD’s Pat Galagan. “Brain work is more important than ever.”

So who wins this game? The team that plans ahead for the skills it will need.

“Companies typically had five-year plans, but now that’s a joke,” Galagan says, adding that even an annual plan might not be good enough. “Nothing stays the same.”

— Adapted from “Bridging the Skills Gap,” Pat Galagan, American Society for Training and Development, www.astd.org.